The Gods of Theros: First Impressions
General forum
Posted on Sept. 5, 2013, 12:34 a.m. by Wabbbit
Okay guys, there they are, all of them spoiled. I think one of them really stands out from the pack as far as power level: Purphoros. I mean seriously, this guy is amazing. Whenever a creature enters the battlefield ping the opponent for two?! I can even see RDW running this guy at 1 or 2x, he's that powerful. He really does everything for an aggressive red deck, he has a big body if it comes to that, he gives you value for EVERY creature you play, and he makes them hit for more in the late game. What else could you ask for?
The next best god in my opinion is Thassa. Her devotion is probably the least likely to be gotten, but her other abilities make up for that. She gives you card advantage and gets your creatures through for pivotal points of damage. And if you get her devotion, a 5/5 for 2U isn't too shabby!
Next up is probably Erobos, although since he was just spoiled, I can't yet determine his power. He doesn't really jump out at me as very powerful, but I'm not really sure. A 5/7 for 3B is very powerful, but I'm not sure how good his "player can't life" clause is going to be, I just can't see it being worth it in standard play. His second ability is definitely his most powerful, as draw power is always good. Again, I'm not sure about him yet.
The nest two are really a toss up, but I think Nylea is a little better. She has a bigger body and she gives creatures trample which could be pretty powerful. Her 3G ability is basically awful. On the other hand, Heliod grants your creature vigilance, and can create tokens for the late game.
Now it's your turn! What do you think of the gods of theros?
I think I agree with everything you've said apart fro the fact that I might consider Thassa the winner. It's a hard choice, but I love card advantage and the comes out earlier, too. Depending on the circumstances, that "make unblockable" part could really make a difference, too. Just my opinion, though. I will definitely be staying at MB 4x Selesnya Charm haha.
September 5, 2013 12:46 a.m.
Yeah, I see your point, Spootyone. I really think Purphoros is the winner here though. I mean, just consider the damage he can do with some well placed creatures. You can win the game by just playing lots of creatures, you won't even need to attack them!
September 5, 2013 12:50 a.m.
I'm inclined to say, off the cuff:
1 Thassa
2 Purphoros
3 or 2.5 Heliod
4 Erobos
5 Nylea
Here is my rationale. Even without being a creature Thassa lets important things through to hit you, guaranteed, and is always fixing your draw before you actually draw it. She also costs the least.
After that its kinda close, in my opinion, between Purphoros and Heliod. Purphoros gets the it just because he does direct damage and has super-firebreathing giving him a tiny edge, but, I feel like people are constantly undervaluing vigilance, especially en masse. Heliod also makes tokens for keeps which is nice, not to metion the fact that the tokens will pump Ethereal Armor and also are granted Vigilance by him. What it really comes down to that gives Purphoros the edge I feel is that Burning-Tree Emissary is in Standard along with Boros Reckoner so its going to be just that much easier for Red to get devotion (should it wish to) over white.
Following them I went with Erobos because I feel like because his first ability could be doing exactly nothing for you if it isn't the right match-up that that is a detriment. His second ability on the other hand is pretty tops and is part of why he is above Nylea even though her devotion should be easy to get as well.
And, yeah, down here is Nylea mostly because most things that want trample already have it (although her synergy with her weapon is solid), and, because her last ability is so, in the moment for most of its efficacy. It doesn't last and if it isn't enough to matter, then thats just it, it probably won't. I don't know, I suppose I'm probably being too harsh in Nylea but thats just my perspective on it.
Also, because we don't have the White or Black weapons yet they may influence this further.
September 5, 2013 12:51 a.m.
SharuumNyan says... #6
I agree with Spootyone- Thassa has the biggest advantage. Put her at the head of a Merfolk deck with Tidebinder Mage and you also have a way to easily deal with Purphoros and Nylea.
September 5, 2013 12:55 a.m.
The Doctor says... #7
So how does this enchantment creature thing work?
It's not an enchant creature, so it's just a plain old enchantment like Path of Bravery or something, right?
September 5, 2013 12:56 a.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #8
I wanna build a Boros deck with Purphoros, Boros Reckoner , and Assemble the Legion . For reasons, of course.
September 5, 2013 12:59 a.m.
SharuumNyan says... #9
Right, it just sits there as an enchantment without the devotion. But they're still pretty awesome just as enchantments.
Also, in the graveyard I'm assuming they will be both creatures and enchantments. For example, for Tarmogoyf .
September 5, 2013 12:59 a.m.
The Doctor says... #10
Goddamn, that makes Thassa crazy strong in a control deck.
September 5, 2013 1 a.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #11
Or for Semblance Anvil . Which is what I always thought of when I first saw Lucent Liminid .
September 5, 2013 1:01 a.m.
smash10101 says... #12
yep, for these ones at least. some of them are just creatures that happen to also be enchantments, though the enchantment type doesn't do much for them
September 5, 2013 1:01 a.m.
smash10101 says... #15
oh, and Spin into Myth in nyx, i think fateseal would be a cool mechanic to add to a small set that already has scry, and it's super flavorful with a block that is based on mythology.
September 5, 2013 1:09 a.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #16
I always forget Fateseal. I hope on of the lesser gods has Fateseal as an activated ability. Perhaps on the UB one.
September 5, 2013 1:11 a.m.
smash10101 says... #17
it won't be in theros set though. I just hope it's somewhere in the block
September 5, 2013 1:13 a.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #18
Exactly why I mentioned the Lesser Gods that will be released through the rest of the block.
September 5, 2013 1:14 a.m.
smash10101 says... #19
i haven't really been paying too much attention to those. I didn't know they were going to be in the rest of the block, though I guess they would want to spread them out and have gods in every set. a biig thing in small sets is to expand on a mechanic already in the block, so we have devotion to color god things in theros, and then we have hybrid color mini god things in nyx. Or we have scry in theros and fateseal in nxy (not quite the same since they are two different keywords, but close-ish)
September 5, 2013 1:22 a.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #20
I feel you're forgetting Born of the Gods in there. There are 5 multicolored lesser gods in each of the small sets. I hope it's enemy first and allied second, with all of them being Legendary, of course.
I really want a new Boros Legendary, you guys. Even if Anax and Cymede look to be a decent RW Voltron commander.
September 5, 2013 1:43 a.m.
I want to make Thassa, God of the Sea for Commander especially when you can turn her into a creature and swing for unblockable commander damage
September 5, 2013 2:09 a.m.
Since there is no guarantee that the gods will always be creatures, I think you'll most often find them in midrange and control decks that will use them as win-cons and sources of card advantage. Which makes me think the two aggro oriented ones, Purphoros and Nylea, will see less competitive play. If it's not a threat you've essentially played an enchantment that has no immediate impact on the battlefield, and aggro these days is all about come into play effects and haste. It's possible they've stapled enough value to them, but I see those two working more in dedicated decks, like Purphoros and Assemble the Legion.deck, than being wide spread includes.
Erobos and Heliod strike me as being the most powerful simply because they don't require anything else, and they are the only ones that offer true card advantage. I think a lot of folks are undervaluing that planeswalker-esque ability to be a machine by themselves. Control decks will love to drop them as very hard to interact sources for them to draw cards or advance their board state.
Thassa will probably see play as well. She comes down earlier and the Scry 1 every turn is useful, letting you see more cards while you dig for answers. Though a typical control deck wants all the lands any ways for big Sphinx's Revelation , so sending those to the bottom every turn is not something you'll want to do. It would be interesting to see if she could be fit in to some kind of blue aggro deck, where Scry 1 every turn is even more useful.
But for control she serves as an alternate win-con once say you play out enough Detention Sphere s, which will see heavy play from rotation as it's one of the few ways to interact with the gods. UW control looks to be quite strong come Theros, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Heliod and Thassa included in the lists.
September 5, 2013 3:07 a.m.
ScionLocke says... #23
red is bonkers. no doubt about it. gonna run it hard.
September 5, 2013 6:46 a.m.
beakedbard says... #24
Purphoros is kinda amusing with the new Elspeth and Assemble the Legion .
September 5, 2013 6:48 a.m.
Honestly, when it comes down to it, Purphoros is pretty decent just with Heliod.
2WW: Put a 2/1 cleric enchantment creature token with vigilance out, deal two to an opponent. Maybe have enough to pump once with Purphoros and swing with the ones you've already got. Just the sheer ability to let you do things with your mana is awesome.
Same thing with Purphoros and his Hammer. Turning extra lands into 3/3 enchantment artifact golems that deal two to an opponent is pretty great.
September 5, 2013 6:52 a.m.
beakedbard says... #26
Elspeth pumps out 3 tokens a turn that's 6 damage every time you activate her +1 if he's around. I agree with the Heliod thing as well i was thinking of making an enchantment/tokens deck around them. Fortunately Sacred Foundry is the only shockland i have a playset of. XD
September 5, 2013 6:55 a.m.
Seriously, the design on these impresses me more than anything I've seen in Magic in a long time. Maybe ever.
The Devotion mechanic is just genius. Not only is it dripping with flavor, but it allows these amazing cards to be costed aggressively enough to be useful in constructed formats. It's not a choice between "nothing" and "huge body with really strong abilities"...you can pay a reasonable amount for the abilities first and pay for the huge body by just constructing your deck to activate it. Without Devotion these gods would have been unplayable because they couldn't have been costed low enough.
I think all of them will at least get tries in constructed, but the red and blue are really, really good. They have really strong abilities even if they're only ever enchantments. What aggro player wouldn't want Purphoros in play even if he never became a creature? What blue player wouldn't want to scry 1 every turn?
Sidenote: Thassa might make Cipher useful. At least in some cases. That would truly be a god-like feat.
smash10101 says... #2
blue god is going in as many decks as I can get copies of her for. just the scry 1 is something I would run at that cost. (might replace Crystal Ball ) Activated unblockable is cool too, especially considering the decks I run. (one has a win con of play a fat flier, swing). probs a one of in every blue edh deck I own and a one or two of in a few of my 60 card decks. note that I don't play standard at all.
September 5, 2013 12:46 a.m.